John Milius

One of the most harrowing things about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the premise. It imagines a war between the United States and Russia, in which the battle isn’t abroad, it erupts in suburbia. It connects the fighting we see on TV to the touchstones of American life — the strip malls, the fast food joints, the two-story houses on cul-de-sacs. It’s a scenario that’s both fascinating and unsettling to play through.

And Kaos Studios knows this, taking that concept and expanding on it. In its vision of the future called Homefront, Kim Jong-Il’s son unites the Korean peninsula and the resulting superpower takes over the Far East. Meanwhile, the United States faces oil shortages and the collapse of its financial system. This opens the door for a Korean invasion. A Korean EMP blast takes out the electrical grid and the Asian nation overruns Hawaii and then San Francisco. Although it’s highly unlikely that will happen in 2024, it does set up a compelling environment for a shooter.